WASHINGTON, D.C. – Federal regulators have fined Sovereign Bancorp $700,000 for failing to properly report certain large cash deposits between June 1998 and May 2001. The penalty is the largest by the Federal Crime Enforcement Network since 1994. According to the Boston Globe the deposits involved about 2,000 customer transactions. Banks are required by federal law to notify the crime enforcement network whenever a customer deposits $10,000 or more in cash. A Sovereign spokesman said the problem arose because of a communications failure between the bank and armored car companies accepting and transporting the cash. Sovereign Bancorp is the parent of Sovereign Bank of New England.
“We thought certain of our vendors (armored car companies) were doing it (filing the reports with the network), and certain of our vendors believed we were doing it,” the Sovereign spokesman said. He added, “But we’re ultimately responsible. The truth of the matter is, we messed up.”
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Romney says he’s open to casinos as budget fixers
BOSTON – Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for governor of Massachusetts, said in a recent radio interview that he would consider allowing gambling casinos to operate in the state as a way to meet budget shortfalls. Bloomberg News said Romney did not return calls asking for comment on his remarks made over station WBUR. The Wampanoag tribe has been seeking the right to open casinos in various locations in Massachusetts for years, including Fall River, New Bedford and Martha’s Vineyard. Massachusetts faces a $2 billion budget deficit in the next fiscal year. Two candidates for the Democratic nomination for governor, Robert Reich and Steve Grossman have expressed their disapproval of casino gambling in Massachusetts.
Charles River Plaza to be rebuilt
BOSTON – The Charles River Plaza, considered initially as a jewel of 1960s renewal efforts in the city’s West End, then denounced as a prime example of neighborhood destruction through displacement in the name of renewal, is being rebuilt and expanded. The Boston Globe reported that the Davis Cos., which purchased the plaza in 2000, has obtained approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority for its plans and expects to have its financing in place by this summer with construction expected to begin in the fall. Among changes in the plaza is a new five-story building masking the parking deck and a near doubling of commercial space to 400,000 square feet.
Compaq accuses Mass. firm of fraud for resales
HOUSTON – Compaq Computer Corp. is suing a company and three individuals, claiming they fraudulently resold products of the world’s second biggest personal computer maker into the “gray market,” Bloomberg News reported.
Police on March 21 raided a warehouse owned by S-Systems Inc. in Tewksbury, Mass., and seized 224 pallets of computer products destined for shipment outside the U.S., Compaq said. The operation allegedly involved the reselling of as much as $5 million in company goods, Compaq said.
The company is attempting to crack down on the gray market, in which unauthorized distributors resell the Houston-based company’s products. These distributors haven’t met its quality standards and sometimes sell damaged goods or use substitute and counterfeit parts, Compaq spokeswoman Elizabeth Gillan said.
The products aren’t always protected by warranties, the company said.
Compaq is amending a March lawsuit accusing S-Systems owner Anthony Sallee of Tewksbury as well as Herbert Cates and Dennis McIntosh, both of Kansas City, of fraud and is seeking treble damages, an injunction and attorney fees. U.S. prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation also are investigating Sallee, Gillan said.
Aderis to offer IPO investors 5.5 million shares
HOPKINTON – Aderis Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is developing a drug to treat Parkinson’s disease, will offer investors 5.5 million common shares in an initial public offering expected to raise about $65 million, Bloomberg News reported.
The Hopkinton, Massachusetts-based company will offer IPO investors 5.5 million shares at $12 to $14 each, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Aderis will have 20.6 million shares outstanding after the offering, giving investors a 26.6 percent stake.
The company expects to receive about $65 million in net proceeds, assuming shares sell in the middle of the IPO range at $13 each., the filing said.
Aderis is waiting for regulatory approval of four product candidates, including a transdermal patch that has been formulated for different uses. The company said its most promising version, Rotigotine-CDS, would treat patients who suffer from Parkinson’s, a disorder marked by muscular tremor and slowing of movement.
Genzyme first quarter net falls 24 percent
CAMBRIDGE – Genzyme Corp.’s General division, a maker of treatments for rare genetic disorders, said first-quarter profit fell 24 percent as sales growth of its Renagel drug slowed and costs rose, Bloomberg News reported.
Net income declined to $30.7 million, or 14 cents a share, from $40.3 million, or 20 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 8.7 percent to $242.1 from $222.7 million.
Sales of Renagel, a treatment for dialysis patients, were $29.5 million, up from $28.6 million a year earlier, though less than half the $55.6 million in sales in the previous quarter.
